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F 374 
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T H lii 



POLITICAL PosrriON 



rii 



A LETTER 



HON. A. F. p S T 1 E, 

Aadilor of rnblic Aceouidn of Louisiana, 



II N . H E N 1( Y L . D A W !^: 8 , 

Chairman ComniUlee on Eltdions, House of Iteprcseidalives. 



NEW ORLEANS: 

PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF THE TRUE DELTA. 

1865. 



V 37 -^ 



DR. DOSTIES' LETTER. 



New Orleans, I)pc. 29, 1864. 

Hon. Henry L. Dewees, Chairman Committee on Elections, House of Bepresentatives, 
Washington, D. C: 



Dear Sir : I sea hy the ne^-spapera that the 
Congressional delegation from Louisiana has 
been met by a protest from thirty-one citizens 
of Jiouisiina under the leadership of Thomas 
J. Durant. 

AUh )Ugh this proti=st was drawn up and 
signed in this city, the free State men of this 
SUte knew not its oon'ents until the docu- 
ment had quietly been sent to Washington, 
and after being printed by order of Congress, 
found its way back again to this city, and was 
publiwhed in one of our r.ewspopers this morn- 
ing. The friendly spirit which you manifest- 
ed towards the Union men of Louisiana in 
your successful efforts for the admission of 
her R(<presentatives to Congress in February, 
1868, and the important ofli'siil position you 
occupy with reference to q'lestions of this 
kind, lead me to ad.iress you hurriedly some 
remarks with the view of enlightening you on 
the politic*! antecedents ani antics of Durant, 
so that his statements may not be received for 
more than they are worth. 

DURANT ABROAD AND AT ITOMR. 

The moohinafions acd insidious eff'jrts of 
this man to thwstt and defeat the restoration 
of Louisiana to the Union, make it highly 
proper, if not necessary, that some 
notice should he taken of his move- 
ments. He appears to have the reputation 
abroad of being identified with the Free 
State movement here and to have caused 
many citizens of other Stares, including mem- 
bers of Congress, to believe him to be the Mag- 
nus Apollo of our cause. He is not in anywise 
a reliable exponent of the Free State men of 



Louisiana, as I shiill conclusively demon- 
strata. Was L uisiana the tribunal 
before which the questi(jns involved are to be 
decided, I should not find it necessary to notice 
or expose Durant. He is well known here. 
His movements arid his inconsistencies are 
thoroughly understood, and need no ventila- 
tion. His party has been reduced to thirty- 
one. His organization has dissolved ; bis 
partisans of yore have found that there was 
neither virtue nor prophecy in his oracles. 
They are now reduced to thirty-one; wnd a 
considerable proportion of thei^e thirty-one are, 
or have been, applicants for office under the 
present State Governmont; showing, though 
they have yielded to his request for their sig- 
natures, they have no faith in the rebults of 
his efforts. So much fir Durant as he is, and 
appears to us at home. 

But during the past summer he performed a 
pilgrimage to the North, and while the friends 
of the Free State cause wore battling for their 
principles before the people and at the polls, 
he was traveling about misrepresenting their 
efforts and the condition of affairs, and elec- 
tioneering against President Lincoln. That 
he has deceived many good and honest men, 
is evident. It therefore seems necessary that 
the true character and past history of this msn 
should be known abroad, as well as at home. 

HIS POLITICAL HISTORY. 

Thomas J. Durant has been known in Lou- 
isiana for the past twenty or twenty-five ye.irs 
as a prominent oflSce-eeeking politician. 
He was United States District Attorney 
under Polk ; and when more recently, in the 



CO operatioD cftiuiiaifjD, he w is accused of 
having opposed the aDr:esation of Texas, on 
j;;r(iundd of h'lttili'y to the ex'onfiou of pla- 
verj', he vigorously and pub'iyly deot-ed any 
Buch motives. But his m're recent polit- 
ical tergivers*tion.=, it is snore to the pur- 
pose to examine. 

DOR ANT AS A MILITART MAN. 

Durir.g the reitin of the Confederacy in this 
city he wag one of its m >st obeiiient adharentp. 
Although al)0ve the ago to he rcqtiired to do 
militia service, be with oiuih alacrity en- 
tered as a pri7.ite into the ranks of the oitizi'.n 
soldiery, and his ptaf>ly and measured tread 
and per'eC'ion and accuracy of drill were emu- 
lated by the admiring youth of the city who 
were wont to look to him na an example. 

CONFEDERATE LAW PRACTICR. 

He conformed to the requirements for mem- 
bers of the bar and entered as one of the earliest 
and most active practitif nf;rs in the "Con- 
federate States Dis'rict Cc)ur'." In doing this 
he showeu much m'>re readine s than after the 
arrival of tha Union flef't when ht^ refused to 
practice his profession for some six months on 
account of having to take the o^tb. 

Ilereis a specimen o( Darant's pri»?tioe in the 
so called "Confederate States Di-itrlot Court," 
which may bo seen in his own hand writing 
in the United Stnto3 ('ourt of this place : 

John L Mannino, Ac, vs. Romakta Til- 
i.OTSON. — In the Conir.dfr>ite States Distri(»t 
Court for the Di -triot of L ui.-tiana. 

And now into this honorable Court, by 
counsel, oimea Romanta Tillotson, the dofend- 
ant, and pleads a peremptory exocpfion to the 
jurisdiction of the Court, and for cau<e of ex- 
ception he shows that this suit is brought i\y 
and on behalf of persins who p-ro all citizens 
of the State of South Carolina, and that the 
defondiint is a citizen of the S'ato of Louisi- 
ana, and that this C"urt has no power or juris- 
dioti'in by the C matitutian and laws ot the 
Confederate States to entertain the cause. 

VVher^Tfire, respondent priys tha^ this ex- 
cpption m«y bo maintained, and that the 
plaintiff's petition miy be dit-mi^ged. 
(Signed) Durant & 1Iohi«or, 

for Duferidant. 
(Signed) SiNfiT.KTON & Sr.A(;K, 

Attornies. 



U. S. Circuit Cocrt, Pixtu riRouiT and ) 

KaSTEUN DIBTUICT 01' 1,11 

Oi. 



MI riROUIT AND ) 
l.ilUIIANt, >■ 

Clerk's UllU-e ) 



I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of 
the original on file in this ofii.ie. 

F. B. V/NOT, 

Deputy Clerk. 
New Orleans, Deo. 27, a. n. 1864. 



MANUFACTURES CLOTHING. 

His house w.^s a manufactory of Confederate 
soldiers' c'othini", whero rubel ladies nsed 
to Bssemlle, and with their tongues and th<ir 
needles give proof of the'r devotion to the 
cause of robpllion. These asseverations ho 
cannot deny. 

POLAR STAR HALL. 

When at last the hearts of the Union 
people of New Orleans were giaddonad by 
tho arrival if the Unioa forofs, who among 
the cit'z'ns went out with rfjoicing and 
welcome upon his lips ? Was it Thomas 
J. Durant? No ; he stalked sulkily and sul- 
lenly about with his hacds in his pockets, 
finding failt with evsrything. He was 
invited to attend the first Union meet- 
ing at No. 44 St. Tiouis street, in Polar 
Star Hall. Ila did so, but what did he 
do ? When the formation of a Union Asftocia- 
tion was proposed, be resisted it ; said it was 
no time ; that our son:' and brothers were upon 
the battle-fields ; many had gone forth "under 
our own Boanrrgurd" — (these words have 
been publicly attributed to Durant, I hope erro- 
neous'y, but without deaia ) ; that the result at 
Corinth WHS not as yet known; that it behooved 
the people of Now Orlearis to await results ; 
thrtt Butler waR enticing the negroes to the 
Custom hou-e and shielding them from the 
authority of tneir masters; and that it was 
best to know first whether our rights to "our 
prop-rty " were to be respected or violated. 
Whon fhe mfeting, notwithstanding his speech, 
procei'ded to or^aniz>5 the first Union Associa- 
tion of New Ofieans, he withdrew. 

won't fractick. 

M*ji>r Bell, fhe .Judge of the Provost Court, 
after most of tho leading members of the bar 
had comraericrd practicing in his Court, sent 
Col. Thorpe to invite Durant to do so also, 
but was Tffuied on the grouod of his objoction 
to taking the oath to support tho Q< nstilution 
of the United Srate--. 

don't like I^NICRE SOLniKRH. 

When tho hetrt of fvery true Uoion man 
thrilled with j'ly to spo the welcome blua coats 
frequenting our strrets, Durint coldly and 
heartlessly said : 'I hate the very S'ght of a 
Holdier ; to me it is emblematic of tyranny and 
despotism." 

TRIP north. 

Desiring to take a trip to the North 



5 



for the henefit, of his heaUh, act! una- 
ble to pT'^ciKo rt pa<8 through the nsiisl oban 
uel.a without, tahiag >he oa*h, be Puc^^eeile;^ in 
obtaining oce 'roin Gen Burler. Wbfn thfi lat- 
ter Icarneil 'oo ):*te, that thi-'Ugh this means 
htt had gone N'rth without, tak'n? the oath, 
he gave vay to the sfrorgpst and most indig- 
cant vfx^ti n. 

LBTTHFS TO THE PRBSIDKNT. 

lie wrote letters t.i fho Pr«fiident of the 
United Sta**!-', OAlliLg, or, as with a voice 
of John Hook, hoarsely bitsHrig f.T pro- 
tedtirn to nsgri property as a sine qua von to 
siibmissioti r.r loyalty. P.rhap^'the President 
still has Dura? l'« ar.peal.-: inr a'd to the cause 
of s'avery ; if not, a' all eeents, Mr. Lincoln's 
patri'.tic rtply i : no di>ur>t on file at the Exe- 
o-itive M>nfi(>n. 

ANTI SLAVKRY. 

This man se!s himst<lt up as ft aort of 
model upon the slavery qucatioc ; in fact, bis 
" I-arn-holi r-than- thou" ►ort of profession? 
upon Gverythinjj; concenirg the Cf^lored peo- 
ple — his refusal to give ce^Ht to th-3 F'ee 
Sfate ajovpment for what it, has done for their 
cauee, make it necepsary that I fhould ana- 
yze hi.'' antecedents strictly upon this ques- 
tiiQ. T fhould not do so but for his nnfair- 
ne.<=8 and u justr.e.'!.''. Far bu it from mo to 
question any man'.-- past who is putriotically 
working or our country's fuMjr^. I freely 
and fratikly admit th^t thou^'h T was pecer a 
pro-siav-^ry man, and nftvpr boujbt and sold 
human flesh, I w>^s in favor of letting the 
"peculiar institution" alone an-l against 
the ur.cea»ing agitation of the slavery 
qiiesti m throughout the nat'On, and thcffure 
against the abolition plan of c;rryirig on the 
war: bu'. when the in placability nf the rebel- 
lion manif'isted itself and t!te pxperifnco of 
the war showed slavery to b", its strong pillar, 
when th<i Dfcessily of its (ieNtiuc'ion was 
shown in ord r to s»enTe the safety of the 
TToiou, I publicly diclarod myself for imrae- 
di^to abolition. I tbrew < ff all the prfvious 
conservatism of my po'i'.ics wh<»n I saw nay 
country in di»ngf.r, and made the first public 
anti-slavrry speech in New Orleans in 18fi2 
Thfou£»hout the Union the mo.'^t staid and 
c 'ns^rvative were changing their ground for 
their country's sake, wb'ch they hid pre- 
viously held, as they thought alto, lor 
their country's sake, and in the same 
spirit. Our glorious President by his procla- 



mation of September 2.3, 18fi2, foreshadowed 
an f-n'ire change <!f p )licy in conducting the 
war so far as it afTo'ted slavery. I wnulJ not 
h'iime Du ant for his multitude of inc'.nsis- 
tent positions on the subject of the Uuion, 
slavery, re^onstrucMon, Sta'e and Territorial 
Givernoier.t, had they changed with an en- 
lightened prngresaion in favor of the c^use of 
the Union, frpedom and restrration. I .shHll 
simply narrate his political antics, and if thf-y 
are esplain'ible upon any grounds other than 
tho^e of selfi'ihneso, politicil d),japp"i:itmpnt, 
acidity of temper and jealousy that any- 
tbing could b'j ace 'mplished as well or better 
by other hands, I will leave the tai;k to bis 
vindica'ors. 

DBBITT AS A UNION MAN. 

IT'S first appearance as a Union man to my 
recollection, w,i8 upon ray invitati n to ad- 
dress the Union Ass ciation of New Orleans 
in 186.3 Hri had, however, as I am informed 
made a Union speech in J< fiferson City, one 
of our suburban towns. 

FAVORS A CONVBNTION. 

Tr.e fi'S'. notable proposition hn mude wa.s 
to restore Lmi la-^ia to the Uoi'-n by a con- 
vention He male several spoejhes in favor 
o' immediate rett )ration by that meth.d, and 
aff-'T m'ist tarnest and persevefiog effors he 
suonerdnd in carrying one of the Uni n Ass'- 
ni>ttion8 in his favr. Those wh > opposed him 
beli^>ve^^ in his views but deem'-d tbnin pri>m.j- 
ture. This was in February, 1863 He ocn- 
ti ued agitating 'n the question in the dis- 
trict or locil clubs. He became Attorrey 
G«iieral un.ler the miliiary authority of Gov. 
S^fpley, and commenced a rf'g'stry system for 
voter.s of the ci y and oonn'ry parishes. He 
had reg'se s appointed in rill the parisVes 
withia the 1 n>-s. He got up a plan of a 
convention upon the white basis, to consist of 
one hu'idrvd and fif'y merubers, aprorioned 
umoDg the parishes almost identically as was 
ad' pted in the calling of the Convention of 
18ri4. It was understood that Durant was 
the active promoter of the schema of a c n- 
ventiiin, but that Gov. Shcpley al way. s found 
eause for dt^lay. Excepting his penchont for 
delay, be left everything in Du'aot's hands ; 
and wi h this Durant was wjili pleasrd. But 
a ctrtnin letter wus received from Prfstf'ent 
Lincoln, who, not pleaspd with Shepley's 
delays, placed everything in the bands of 
Maj. Gen. Bunks. 



6 



HE TAKES ANOTHER TURN 

Here was the begiriDing of Durant's hostility 
to the plan which bus been tubstantially fol- 
lowed in the restoratioii of Louisiana. Before 
that time there w.s, accirdin 5 to Ms own 
>>j)eecJies, territory enough an J jjojjit'af ton enotiyh 
fully to warrant s-uch a proceedicg. Tikiug 
the thing out of Shepley's harids wa^; iaking 
it out of Duranf's hands. Although all the 
proposi'ioos Did plans of Darant have betn 
substantially, nay almost id«titioal!y foiiowoii, 
his opinions hare undergone a radical chinge. 
What caused that chwuge to come "o'er the 
spirit of his dreams ?'' Diaappointment and 
ambiti'iD. He oould not rule as " master," 
theref re he has striven to 7-uin. On Novem- 
ber 22, 18fi3, at Ljceum Hall, Mr. Durant 
said: "In this contest there could be no 
neutrality ; if one wai not with his country 
wholly and entbusiaatic-tliy, he was co-cper- 
ating with its enemies."' AIko : " He who 
f'iils to uphold the Administration in all its 
measures helps the rebellion to rear the coun- 
try in pieces." In this speech he expressed 
his belief that he was ad Iressing an audience 
that was willing t . lay theirall upon the altar 
of tboir country, to pres^erve the Union and 
estab'ish freedom to all mankind. 

" But wo are not, a territory in the commnn 
aoaepfation of that term — fUcVi, for instance, 
as Nebraska and Nev&da — wo are merely in a 
sttjta of insurreo'ior, under military rule and 
without a Slate (Government, and when the 
time comes, if the people themselves will step 
forward and frame a Ci)riiJtitulion, r' cognizing 
the principles of frei'dom as laid down in the 
Emancipation Proclamation, and without 
slavery, the re urn of the State to her allegi- 
ance will be hailed with one universal shout of 
joy from a'l liar free sisters ; but until they 
do this, ibey mus', bo content to live under 
the laws made by our military rulers, or as a 
tarri'ory of the Uuited KtHtc?." 

This is the closing paragrajih of one of his 
most elaborate speecbeH m»de but Httlti mure 
than one year ag ^ Tt)o State's integrity is 
not aiisaiied ; Sca'e lines ar.d State rights un- 
der the Federal C institution are forcibly and 
eloquently defended. He says, in his letter 
to the Hon. Henry Winter Davis, that the 
friends of freadom were thwarted in their ef- 
forts by tho «ix«cutivo at Wapbington. Ho 
says he has watched tho prrgreps of the Davis 
bill with ansie'y because hepf-rceived it would 
give " us " reliiif from the inoaiiaciiy and in- 
fidelity of tho executive admini.-tration. He, 
in his letter, is suddenly apprised of the great 
efDcaoy of the Davis plan of reoonstru cli< n 



Prom the moment I had tho honor toinvitehim 
to identify himfclf with the cause of Uaiouitim 
an^ libarty he urged, in his powerful argn- 
loeiits, that Louisiana had cot seceded, that 
she was siill a constituent member of the 
Union, that she could not disconnect herself 
fri;m tho hallowed bonds otherwise than by 
the providons of the Constitution thtit formed 
it and made for us the great and glorious 
Republic; and now ha speaks of tho Davis' 
bill as being tho only constihitional power 
known to the G.ivernment for the restoration 
of which in his ablest arguments he claimed 
had not been lost, and he dares to abuse the 
great and wi^e President in seeking to per 
patuate in Lmisiana "oil that incapaci'y and 
selfishness can render odious to the citizers." 

HIS SLAVEOCRACV. 

Tbat Durant has been ro stranger to the 
system of slavery, the following document, 
which may bo seen at the Conveyance OfBje of 
this city, will show ; be did not scruple to 
traffic in, asd buy women and children. He 
said rfcontly iD a letter to the New York Tri- 
bune, that the people of New Orleans kneiv 
what ho had done with his slaves. Yef, they 
do know. He kept thtm till the close of 186.3, 
wh.'n, having got all the work he could out of 
them, and Gen. But'er's administration against 
his remonstrances having rendered them of 
no further pecuniary value to him, he ostenta- 
tiously emarcipatcd Jhcni in open coutt, not 
quietly like hundreds of other citizens, telling 
them they were free, and contracting for their 
services as free laborers without a forced and 
iinf'oasonabio display f{ pretended generosity. 
What magoificcTit philanthropy ! 

Njnth May, LS51 — Sale ok Slaves of 
Widow Peter Cenas to Thomas J. Durant. 
By act passed before W. Christy, Notary Pub- 
lic, dated the28(h dey of October, 1845, Pan- 
lino Maria St. Jean, widow of the late Peter 
Censas, late of this city, deceased, has sold 
unto Thomas .1. Durant, also of this city, tho 
following named slaves, to wit : B-osanna, a 
nogress aged about twenty-nine years, and hef 
three children, to-wit : EiizHboth, aged about 
seven years, Tyler, aged about three jears, 
and Sally, an infant, aged about six months — 
all blade. 

That Fale was male for the sum of eight 
hundred dollars, ($800), for which said pur- 
chaser has furnished his note benrirg e'ght 
percent, interest from its date until tjnal pay- 
ment, drawn in favor of said v< ndor, dated 28th 
October, 181.5. New Orl«*ans, !»th May, 1851. 
Bbrnard Marignv, Register. 

not opposed to slavery extension. 
I now give an extract of bis remarks at a 



uc'ited Snu'hern action mass meting at tbe 
Orleans Theatre, as puSlisbsd in the Daily 
True Data, January 4th, 18151 : 

Thomas J. Durant was next introduced to 
the mtetinjf. A'ter eli quent atd «onenjUf< 
ailusioa to the city, which had taken him by 
Iha hand, when a boy and which bad fostered 
the efforts of hia maturer ago, and picturicg 
the contrast of Liuisiana as a French colony 
and her gK>ry and prosperity as an ird^pend- 
ent State in n ooaredtT^oy of equals, Mr. 
Durant saiii, that under the grave oiroum- 
starices in whic!i the couotry was now placed, 
any CKJbiJtr-ition of a personal charaote: 
might seem to his audience peculiarly out or 
placd and would certainly rtceive no attention 
at his hands, were it not that irjustice, uiiiu- 
tentiocal no doubt he thought bad bccu done 
him in this very place last evening. 

A gentleman who was an ornament to the 
cause be e-'p -uced, a raaa of hono'-, and one 
whom he (Mr. Duraot) had known and es- 
teemed, be might s\y, from bcyhood, bad 
ailuded to what be otceived to have been hi.-; 
(Mr. Durani's) vi«ws on the annexation o- 
Texai; ia 184 1, suppling that Mr. Durant had 
then opposed it on the ground, as was staged 
'n the reps rt of his spefch in one of the oity 
papers of this morning, that it would exteci^ 
the area of slavery and give too gre.ir a pre- 
ponderance to tbe flave power. Mr. Duran* 
8%id he regre'ted to see the cause of unUed 
Sou'.hern action assailed on his account, but 
tbe more so by tbeimputati'^n to him of faults of 
which he was not guilty. His views of Ih.st tinoe 
hnd been totally mis«ppreheuded ; he hud then 
di-cu-sed the question on constitutitnal 
grounds, btlievirjg that there were Ftrious ob- 
jectiocs to the measure on that score, and be- 
lieving that the time and manner of annexa- 
tion then proposed would burden us with a 
war which a diflfercnt course might aviid, but 
that it waa a grave etror to impute to him 
(Mr. Durant) views which did ni^^perate in 
the discussion at all. "^^ 

Mr. Durant said that sixteen tu^sevenleen 
ye*rs was a long time to look back to, and he 
was glad his oppotient.s could finti nothing 
more recent to urge against him ; but in re- 
curring to the history of that period, it will be 
found that his position in the Dcmucratic 
party of that time was such as to procure him 
the cnnDdantial post of member of the State 
committee which managed the election of Poik 
and Dallas, the annexation candidates against 
-J- • Mr. Clay and the Whig party of the day, who 
were then unanimously opposed to annexa- 
tion ; that his position was then, also, such as 
to secure him the nomination, not long after, 
by the Domooratio party of this city, as candi- 
date for the State Senate, to which he was tri- 
umphantly elected ; and to secure him the ap- 
pointment, by Mr. Polk, of the responfibie 
place of United States District Attorney here, 
which he had filled with satisfaction to the 
public. And none of thefe positions could he 
(Mr. Durant) havw attained, had the people, 
the party, or the Government imputed to him 
the opinions which are now erroneously sug- 



gested. And it seemed to him (Mr. Durant) 
that after such endorEements, it was too late, 
under any oircumstinces, to go behind the 
ree)rd, after seventern years have elapsed. 

The g'--nt!eman w'oo has boon reported in 
the pres^, Hrtid Mr. Durant, as having called 
my patriotism in question, is a msn of honor, 
and would not, I am sure, misrepresent me 
inteationalJy. I wii! tbftie''ore dwell no lon- 
ger on that Bubjcot, but of the snouking fel- 
lows who go round in dtrk o orcers traduoicg 
me, I here denounce them as mor.d'icious cal- 
umniators, atd Rm prepared to meet tlieir cal- 
umnies here or elsewhere. 

But, said Mr. Durant, the true question is — 
what shnll we do now? Not what v;e d'd 
formerly. We should make an tft'^rt to Hccuro 
tbe safety and honor of the Stitte in the 
Union, and if that e^>uld not be done, we 
should, all of us together, take measures for 
our safety and happiness out of it. 

HE don't recognize EMANCIPATION. 

Ho says "no free State C< nslituiion had, on 
the 8th day of July, been adopted or installed 
in the fragment of Louisiana held by the 
military foioes of the United States." On 
the lltfa May the Convention, reprefent- 
iog fully two-thirds of the entire pojjulation of 
the S^ate, passed the Ordinance of Emancipa- 
tion. Eighty-five members of the Convention 
were present and voted upon the great quef- 
tion. Of this number seventy-two voted in 
favor of the Ordinance, declaring slavery for- 
•ever aioZ/oZ'erf and prohibited throughout the 
State, and iuhibitin.^ in their fiat the Legisla- 
ture ffom making laws recognizing the right 
of property in man, and proclaiming that all 
children, from the 'tges of si.x and eighteen 
years, shall be educated by maintenance of 
free public tchools ; also, that all able bodied 
men in tW> State shall be armed and disci- 
plined for its defence, and that the black man 
may receive tbe full rights of citizensfip. 
Are not those jewels of liberty? With these 
invaluable jewels the Corstitution was 
adopted in the hearts of the people. The 
form or ceremony of ratification had not been 
gone through 'tis true ; but Mr. Durant, from 
his knowledge of the loyalty of his fellow- 
citizens, could scarcely help knowing it would 
be ratified by an immense majority, and if he 
was imbued with that patriotism and love of 
liberty his eloquent speeches in his saner and 
more generous moments portray, be would 
feel to thank those who stood by the helm of 
the ship when he was in the hold endeavoring 
to scuttle and sink her. 

PARTICIPATES IN THE ELECTION. 

Durant participated in the election for State 



uffioora ia Eobruar>, 1864; be wais cbHiruisn 
of a oouuiitittd which oouiluoteJ the oauipaign 
fur ooe aet uf oaadidatis ; he aiade iiumurous 
publioaiioDS unJ speuoh^s, and bis p<irtDer, 
Cbas. W. Horner, who nuw "otriitiao" the 
protfst, weui bot(,ro tbe pt.op'.o oi. Duratii'e 
tioket as u 04ndid»ie for Atit rucy Ueueral ! 
Tho Duraot tiukot obl.iiaed Ouly about one 
lixih of the entire vote oas*. Findiog tbe 
weakntsii ut his party, and obiDdouicg ail 
hope of being returned to she Cou^titu■i 'Oa' 
ConveutioD, h'j S'jdden'y catne to the ojdoIu- 
hion that be would uot b& aca;<diJa'.e, " because 
ihe whole moveiuaut was irregular!"' His 
partner was, however, a^-aiu a ca£i<lid4te, and 
again ucsuocessfu'. It' Durant or hiii partoer 
bad b«,cn electeJ, it is fair to astu-ue that we 
would have had none of their piga^y cfi'or'e to 
retard the great Free S ate moveiuRUt in Lou- 
isiana. And if the President ba', in co;upli- 
aiice with his wishes', directed Okv. Bu ler to 
respect elave proptrty, Durant would not have 
a ught (as he dil in his puMisliod letter to H- 
Winter Davis) to riJioule our glorii'us Presi- 
d-m', by quuting the 'iucs: 

"Full well th>'V luurh, with c0141.te1f.lled elee. 
At all his Jokis, lor iniiu} a Joke tiai he." 

CONCLUSION. 

Bit I fear, my dear sir, that tho lob^th of 

this le'.ter uiiy tire you. I have writ'oa hur- 



riedly and therefore incohereatiy. Let the 
patiiotism and ea'.°nestne^s of my heart com- 
pensate fi>r ijny deSuiency of style. I have 
written mote in a rpirit of isorrow than in 
auger. My aim has been uotbiug to extenuaie 
nor aught to set down in malice ; but I have 
considered it my duty as a g-jo.l ciizen to 
unmask tho conduct uf me who has immo- 
de tly and unjustly sought 10 thrust him.ieif 
before tbe country as tbe only o.>ncie- 
teut. Union iind Froe Staie man of 
Louisiana, and thus Si)Ug'ijt to icjure tbe 
glorious C'tuss of loyalty ac>d restoration, un- 
der our new CoLStituii'>D. Uiw far he wi I 
succeSa in his misohievouj and disloyal prao- 
tio: 3 or in his efTvria tj coritml the pv<li'ics uf 
this S'at!', rema'Ds to be seen. Wiih regard 
to the amount of bis suoocss at a di^ta co, 
where he is not known, I can not pr.iphccy. 
But for the people of Louisiana I can tafely 
siy '.hilt th-'y have n > coufidenfe iu his p. hti 
cal integrity or wis.Jom. 

With high regard, I > m, very respeetlullj, 
yours, • A. P. Dostik. 

P. S. — While closing the above letter a 
number .of additional dr.cuoieuts have come 
i&to my possessioi), thiowicg 'urthor lit:lit 
upon Darant'j record, which [ fha'i, if ntciv- 
sary, mike the subject of another letter. 

A. P. D. 






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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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